Fifteen people, including 11 illegal immigrants, in Massachusetts have been arrested and accused of fraudulently obtaining $1.4 million in food stamps, MassHealth, disability, and unemployment benefits, the Justice Department said Thursday.
Of those in the country illegally, six are Dominican nationals, one is an Indian national, and four are listed as “John Doe” because authorities believe they are using stolen identities and have yet to verify them.
Of the 15 suspects arrested, 10 were charged with identity theft.
One was Framingham, Massachusetts, resident Heriberto Rodriguez, accused of identity theft in connection with more than half a million dollars in benefits, including $175,182 in MassHealth fraud, $146,944 in Social Security fraud, $185,194 in HUD fraud, and $39,000 in SNAP fraud. He was also charged with passport fraud.
Likewise, Santo Escolastico Cuello, a 56-year-old Dominican illegal immigrant living in Massachusetts, is charged with identity theft and racking up $162,180 in MassHealth fraud.
These charges are the latest in a series of illegal immigrant fraud allegations in states such as Minnesota and Ohio that have sparked national outrage.
In Minnesota, scores of fraudsters were charged with stealing billions in taxpayer funds through bogus daycare and autism services; many of those accused come from the state’s Somali communities. In Ohio, federal and state charges were filed this month against nine defendants for their alleged roles in fraud totaling over $42 million, with two additional defendants pending extradition in connection with another $15 million in fraud.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division, supporting President Donald Trump’s Task Force to eliminate fraud, chaired by Vice President JD Vance.
In May, Vance said taxpayer dollars are going to illegal immigrants obtaining benefits fraudulently.
“I’ve seen efforts to try to quantify this. I think the answer is hundreds of billions of dollars a year,” Vance said in response to a question from The Epoch Times at a May 13 press conference.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Grimming, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security investigations in New England, said the operation to uncover fraud in Massachusetts was just the beginning. He said he is making progress in identifying government benefits fraudsters, dismantling identity document dealers, and arresting those stealing from taxpayer-funded programs.
In March, U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley announced the creation of the Benefit and Voter Fraud Team, targeting “rampant fraud uncovered across Massachusetts.” The team is led by two senior federal prosecutors tasked with investigating and prosecuting misuse of taxpayer-funded benefits in the state.
“These cases highlight a broader, deeply troubling pattern: the exploitation of America’s safety-net by illegal aliens,” added Colin M. McDonald, assistant attorney general for the National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Fraud by illegal aliens carries real and substantial costs to American taxpayers and places enormous strain on our public benefits systems.”
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin added that criminal illegal immigrants “will be swiftly removed from our country so they can never defraud American taxpayers again.”
“Under President Trump, DHS is putting the American people first again,” Mullin said.
Travis Gillmore and Janice Hisle contributed to this report.
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